By Joy Zhang ‘14

Fresh on the music scene, Lucy Gray is an innovative, four-piece band that puts on exciting shows and aspires to go on tour this summer. “This group that we’ve formed is interesting in that we’re all really different in what we listen to,” explained senior Nish Desai, the band’s guitarist, bassist and vocalist. “Bringing these differences together makes me excited for the type of music we have the potential to create, and I look forward to seeing where this project goes.”

Desai and senior Dean Emerson, who plays bass, guitar and MIDI (Musical Instrumental Digital Interface) and sings vocals, have been playing music together since their sophomore year. When they shared the desire to one day go on tour, the two decided to take their music to a semi-professional level and started a band. This past November, Emerson and Desai recruited senior Tim Tralka on guitar and MIDI and Magruder junior Will Andersen on drums to form Lucy Gray. The band took its name from the title of a poem by William Wordsworth.

The band’s music is indie/alternative, with an emphasis on guitar-driven riffs supported by funk bass lines and electronic variations. They currently have two songs, “Kings” and “Solitude,” available for download on Reverbnation.

Lucy Gray is influenced by bands like Bombay Bicycle Club, Alt-J and Arcade Fire. “We love how all those bands use relatively simple guitar and bass lines, but then layer on top more extensive beats and synth/keyboard riffs. We appreciate how the difference in intricacy forms a really listenable sound,” said Desai.

All the band members have a good foundation in jazz, “so while a song may sound absolutely nothing like a jazz standard, most of the chord choices and ideas come from artists like McCoy Tyner and Wayne Shorter,” said Emerson.

The boys ultimately want to go on tour, but they’re taking small steps first. Lucy Gray has various house shows in the works, including plans to play at the Outta the Way Café’s “Thursday Night Open Mic” and the coffeehouse at Oakdale Emory, and hopes to have the opportunity to participate in “The Next Big Thing Tour” at the 9:30 Club.

They recently performed in Jammin’ Java’s Band Battle on January 6. Although they didn’t move on to the next round, “it was [still] a great show. We made a lot of connections and gained a lot of exposure. We’ll play there again in the future, no doubt,” said Emerson.